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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 27 February 2017

TextExpander 6.1.7 -- Smile has released TextExpander 6.1.7, improving connection reliability for syncing snippets and banishing an unwanted leading line break that occurred when expanding some formatted snippets. The text-expansion utility also retains animation of GIFs after adding via drag-and-drop, and it lets you add delimiter macros to script snippets. TextExpander 6 is available via a monthly or annual subscription, and Smile continues to offer TextExpander 5 as a standalone app for $44.95 (TidBITS
members receive a 20 percent discount only on the purchase of version 5). ($40 annual subscription, 6.4 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

Apple Remote Desktop 3.9 -- In version 3.9 of Apple Remote Desktop — the remote management software’s first update since early 2015 — Apple now requires OS X 10.10.5 Yosemite, but provides backward compatibility for communicating with Apple Remote Desktop clients running any version of 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, or 10.10.4 Yosemite. (The Apple Remote Desktop Client comes with the operating system, and version 3.9 will be made available via Software Update to users running 10.10.5 Yosemite or later.) The Remote Desktop admin app also adds support for the Touch Bar on the 2016 MacBook Pro, enables
administrators to export and restore an encrypted list of computers and user credentials, and enables admins to use an assistant cursor to call attention to items on a remote screen. Many users are experiencing a problem where client machines fail to authenticate and show the status “Needs Upgrade.” Reportedly, the solution is to go to Remote Desktop > Preferences > Security and select “Allow communication with older clients (less secure).” However, admins are reporting other problems as well, so it’s worth holding off on this update until the community gives it the all clear. ($79.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 13.4
MB, release notes, 10.10.5+)

SoundSource 3.0.1 -- Rogue Amoeba has released SoundSource 3.0.1, a maintenance update to the company’s recently revived sound preferences tool (see “SoundSource 3 Simplifies Mac Audio Management,” 17 February 2017). The update ensures that the global menu’s volume level slider for the specified input device no longer jumps erratically, fixes a bug that prevented the Play-Thru window’s input device volume from correctly reflecting the current device value at all times, and ensures that the option to start SoundSource at login can be turned off in Preferences.

If you own a license to a current version of one of Rogue Amoeba’s other apps — such as Airfoil, Audio Hijack, Fission, Nicecast, or Piezo — you can register SoundSource for free. Go to the SoundSource page and click Purchase. On the next page, click Learn More under Get a Complimentary SoundSource License. Then enter the email, license name, and license code associated with your Rogue Amoeba product, and click Submit. ($10 new, free update, 3.5 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

Slack for Mac 2.5.1 -- Slack has released version 2.5.1 of its Mac desktop client, improving the way the app loads teams to reduce memory usage. The group messaging system and collaboration tool also adds a Paste & Match Style option under the Edit menu, adds an Open Help Center item to the Help menu for faster access to documentation, resolves an issue with teams going missing after hibernation or a system crash, and fixes a bug that shuffled team icons out of their expected order in the sidebar. (Free from Slack and the Mac App Store, 64.6 MB, 10.9+)

Logic Pro X 10.3.1 -- Apple has released Logic Pro X 10.3.1 with added support for the Audio Unit v3 specification for virtual MIDI ports, along with numerous stability and performance improvements. Amongst the wide-ranging list of changes, the professional audio app addresses a variety of crashes, improves responsiveness when time-stretching an audio region by Option-dragging its left corner, boosts performance for the Project File Browser when viewing large projects, ensures the Magnet Effect in Alchemy sounds in tune, returns the capability to edit Region-based Automation on Take Folders, and improves reliability of
applying fade outs to multiple selected audio regions. ($199.99 new in the Mac App Store, free update, 1.32 GB, release notes, 10.11+)

BBEdit 11.6.4 -- Bare Bones Software has released BBEdit 11.6.4 to address bugs in the venerable text editor. The update resolves an issue where some editor settings were not correctly applied when opening an existing document, prevents a crash that could occur when (or after) closing a Differences window, restores case transformations in Grep replace patterns to working order, patches a memory leak associated with the Zip archive reader, and fixes a bug that would cause BBEdit to run out of memory when processing very large files with a text factory. ($49.99, free update, 14.1 MB, release notes, 10.9.5+)

Tinderbox 7.0 -- Eastgate Systems has released Tinderbox 7.0, a major new release for the personal content assistant that adds new features. With “composites,” you can easily build structures from multiple notes by snapping two or more notes together. Eastgate refined the Tinderbox map views for speed and flexibility, adding guides (which Eastgate calls “kibbitzers”) that help with map layout. The release also includes four new font families that are optimized for reading on modern screens, adds the capability to add quick links to a note by typing “[[“ and then the first letter of the note, adds some new
actions, and improves text import from Word files, spreadsheets, Scrivener, DEVONthink Pro, and more. You can upgrade to Tinderbox 7.0 from any previous version for $98, and the new version is free if you purchased a Tinderbox license in the last year. ($249 new, $98 upgrade, 30.3 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

1Password 6.6.1 -- AgileBits has released 1Password 6.6.1, adding the capability to customize Strong Password Generator settings directly from the Touch Bar on the 2016 MacBook Pro. The update also clarifies text on the Touch ID prompt, adds support for Yandex Browser’s new code signature, prevents 1Password from quitting after restoring from a backup, fixes some logic that prevented signing into iCloud due to old legacy iCloud data, avoids a crash when attempting to use the Account Migrator on OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and resolves an issue where the Item Sharing menu would be incorrectly disabled. Another significant
change is that 1Password in the Mac App Store is now free to download, and works for 30 days in trial mode. After that, users are prompted to subscribe to 1Password. For more details, see AgileBits’ blog post. ($64.99 new from AgileBits with a 25 percent discount for TidBITS members or free with a $2.99 or $4.99 per month subscription, free update, 47.4 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

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